on this rumbling
              stretch of tundra
                  no trees reach up
                     to soothe the sky
                     there is a pulling down
                  of wind tunnel vortex
               like conifers in reverse
          an icy howl
in the bonechill
               of time
Translucent holes,
         perfectly round, are dug
                in glacial archeology
                  and in the sea below
               gelid creatures lurk,
           half-frozen
         in the history of my
                                        soul
Only moss and lichens
grow on the rock,
somehow softening the
rugged textures
of the wild landscapes
that seethe
          just beneath my skin
and there, just
shy of the surface
is a quickening
a subtle pulse of veins
that pumps life
between the gales of
my heart's steppes
flushing out
           the pain
somewhere
deep
      within the private lotus
of my being
folioles unfurl
leafy shapes around
my organs
wrapping them like gifts
          as they undulate in whorls
opening my petals
in renewed consciousness
and deliberation
as a new kind of  
           stamen
                rises
    dusty pollen
powdery
budding ripeness
       bursting up
       and out
   of my deepest
       centered
whirlpool pistil
nectar dripping
in viscous webs,
to be caught upon
the tongue of
a new dawning
My silky outer
wings of vegetation,
slender stalks of
          filaments and anther
have been turned
into hot steel
They protect
    the tender vulnerable
                   when burned
as poison words held up to my
watchful eyes,
                   are properly discerned
I give myself over
to this new power,
my back arched to fully embrace
what is to come,
a universe calling thunder,
the old patterns undone
I am ready
to reveal my all
as the goddess deep within
comes to release my gold
suffusing light through skin
conjured from me
a relentless strength,
ever-growing,
                now tenfold
rising way past
soft-lit stratospheres
and orbiting
               to
                 bold

She will go to where others have flown before
Relegated as a memory
Something to be delved into
One night over a glass of scotch
While someone I don’t know insistently tells me things I don’t care about
I’ll remember she never said it first.
It always ended with “too”
As well
As well huh?
Her smile.
They all smile.
It’s when they stop smiling that it starts to hurt.
The empty rocks glass snaps me back into the now
They’re still talking
I’ll pay the tab
As an example
I have no whiskey at home
And I’m still not numb enough so I’d like another
But I just can’t listen any longer
To this nonsense
Not while my mind is still on her
And her “too”

A vaguely lit lampshade
Pictures the streets
Where tiny crickets and fireflies
Awaken from their slumber

As many a number cannot tell
The livelihood of the suburbs
Where owls fly and wolves howl
In a sea of light emitting from the lockets

And at dawn the bumblebee flutters
In an elongated mantra
The day awakens, the night rests
And the puppets emerge from their cases

The city where hearts beat and break
Where the puppets dance to the clocktower in the west
But tonight I forgot my key
And remained at peace in my locket

It's the way she holds her head when you talk
The way her eyes light up when she sees a dog
The way her hair frizzes around her head like a halo
The way her body will melt into you when you hold her
She's beautiful

It's the way she talks to the voices in her head
The way she walks
The way she talks
The way she takes care of you

It's the way she holds you when you've had a long day
Or how soothing her voice is when your demons come to play

She's beautiful
But you never told her.

i want you to get tired
tired enough to leave me
so that i'll know
that all the people
in my life
left for a reason
that way i'll understand
how i became like this
so lonely
so broken
so afraid of love and trust
as if it'll burn me
and maybe
you'll prove me right
that i was never enough
to make people stay.

but still i hope,
you'd be the one
to prove me wrong.